<p>cpt, you are my hero. I agree with you <em>again</em>.</p>
<p>I know that Firandrain is very helpful at the Brown foruns. But I also know that he/she saw many complaints about the Brown interview process.</p>
<p>Schools that make things difficult/awkward for students need to realize that from the applicant point of view, everything is critical, and students do not have the luxury of selecting among a thousand of options, as schools do.</p>
<p>I recall a recent thread here about what adcoms say and the meaning of it. One that stuck with me is “X is optional means X is required”. For lottery schools such as Brown, more so.</p>
<p>And btw, as a recent applicant I would finde it completely weird if the interviewer were to ask me to go to his/her house or would like to come to my house. Going to the interviewer business address is okay. If the interviewer cannot think about a single public place where to have a conversation with the student, get out of the interview business. For every single busy Starbucks over there there are 5 other nice/peaceful coffee shops out there.</p>
<p>Firandrain, as a suggestion, just communicate back to your folks at Brown that Duke’s approach to go with the neutral territory is great. At least this recent former applicant thinks it is.</p>
<p>Long time interviewer here. We’re asked not to go to students’ homes for many of the reasons/complaints stated above. Happy to comply. Twice, I had to last minute switch an interview to my home b/c my wife was called into work and I had little kids. I offered to reschedule if they wanted. I was very clear to them about the situation and that my kids would be around. I think neither student felt anything funny.</p>
<p>I avoid Starbucks for the noise and lack of privacy. Panera is better but not perfect. I like a quieter bagel shop near my house. I’m not opposed to meeting at McDonald’s either – especially if it’s in some far away point that neither of us are familiar with.</p>
<p>I also tell the student in advance that it will be a casual meeting, that the meeting is for them to tell my admissions office more about themselves and to feel free to dress casually. I think all these, in combination, help reduce some of the stress they might be feeling.</p>
<p>I know of some local libraries that have small meeting or conference rooms and some town halls that may allow a local resident to use a meeting area for an interview. These would be quiet and neutral locations.</p>
<p>As an alum interviewer I would not offer to come to someone’s home. If the only time available was 8 pm after work, I would ask the prospy if it would be convenient to meet at a coffeeshop or something. Libraries are a possibility as many have small rooms to chat in, but may be closing down by then. I’ve usually suggested a place or two and also asked the prospy if they had any suggestions for a convenient place to meet.</p>
<p>Of course, if I was someone instantaneously famous and could not meet easily in a public place, then maybe offering to come to their home might be reasonable.</p>
<p>I understand the idea of a “neutral” location, but I think it’s important to understand that this isn’t a negotiation between two equal parties: it’s an interview, and the interviewer calls the shots. If he wants to come to your house, or have you go to his house, or meet on a busy streetcorner, that’s what you do unless there’s a really good reason to decline. That seems simple to me. There isn’t a really good reason to decline having this guy come to your house at 8:00, which isn’t late–he may work until 7 every day, even if he is 68.</p>
<p>I remember a lengthy thread some time back about somebody who didn’t want their kid to go to the interviewer’s house because he might be a pervert–and this was an interviewer for some major college.</p>
<p>Thus, Starbucks–a lousy place for an interview, in my opinion, but that’s where we are, I guess.</p>
<p>I do alum interviews and give the applicants the choice of my house or library or school (one of the schools is great about use of library or cafeteria after school). They usually want to come to my house because I can be more flexible about time. Most of them live very near me so it’s kind of easy to research me and determine I’m probably not dangerous. I’m a girl, though, I think parents might be more concerned about their daughter going to a strange man’s house. I liked it when one applicant suggested I come to her house because then I didn’t have to clean up mine (but I would never have invited myself over).</p>
<p>I don’t consider the alum interview to be one-sided and totally determined by the interviewer. Its the job of the interviewer, in part, to help the student have a good impression of the school, and if the student doesn’t feel comfortable with the interview process or arrangements, that doesn’t bode well. I can recheck our alum interview guidelines, but IIRC we are encouraged to give a few options for the time/location of the interview. That said, its getting late and maybe they are running short on time.</p>
<p>Like others above, when I was applying to colleges 35+ yrs ago, I had two interviews at my house and one at the interviewer’s office. Funny how we did not think anything of it back then. In fact I would have preferred the interview at my home – I remember that I ran out of gas on the way home from my Yale interview at the interviewer’s office.</p>
<p>I think it boils down to putting yourself in the shoes of a 68 year old Grad - he’s being courteous in offering to come to the student’s house, at a time which is usually well after dinner so as not to interfere and by coming to the house no one has to consider transportation for the student. The interview will probably last less than an hour. Absent a dangerous situation (house undergoing renovation and steps to front door missing) I’d roll with it. If it’s really upsetting to your routine, propose an alternative location. Agree with others that Starbucks and book store cafes can be very noisy or lacking in privacy. Some alums do phone interviews.</p>
<p>Unless OP’s trying to stir discussion, I don’t understand what’s so upsetting here. If the interview location of OP’s home is inconvenient, then SON should simply contact interviewer and try to find another mutually convenient time and location.</p>
<p>However, I’d refrain from revealing to interviewer that DS “goes to bed at 8”.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s fair to suppose that a kid will have difficulty adjusting to a college schedule because his family keeps early hours and his mother asked a simple question about how to accommodate a FAMILY schedule. I didn’t get the sense that she was suggesting that just because he usually goes to bed by 9, her son couldn’t adapt to the request, only that it seemed weird and it wasn’t ideal.</p>
<p>My own memory of college is that there’s lots of adjustment in store for everyone. There are plenty of people who take 8 am classes and work in between classes. As a rule, they aren’t staying up much past 9. There are those, like one of my D’s roommates, who literally stay up all night studying and then go to bed at 5 or 6 am and want utter quiet and dark for the next 7 hours. And there are those who leave campus entirely on weekends. If you are lucky, you put your situation out on a roommate questionnaire and end up with a compatible roommate and a good rooming situation. If not, you deal with it in a courteous and respectful way, accepting the validity of another person’s habits and working with that.</p>
<p>^^Thanks for contributing this comment 3girls. It’s off topic, but is good info. One of my daughters is a college junior sharing a house with 4 other students this year. They’ve made a pact to stay up until 9 PM just not to seem quite so lame. They’re hard working kids who like to go to bed early. You can find your people if you try!</p>
<p>I am surprised an interviewer would want to come to your house. But 8pm time is probably picked to be clear that there is no expectation of you serving him dinner.</p>
<p>It’s not that things have changed in terms of interviewers coming to the house. (It has the other way around, however). It’s just that back then, parents just did it and those who really did not want this, suffered through the misery and humiliation. For most of us, it may be just fine. As I said, I don’t care. Didn’t bother me a bit when the NROTC guy asked and it didn’t even hit a warning bell that someone else might be worried. But there are many kids and families out there that have some situations at home that they just don’t want outsiders to see.</p>
<p>My DH lived in his grandmother’s “hoarder” type house that looked fine from the outside and was in a great neighoborhood. He never had friends or anyone at the house because of the appalling mess there and in a few years, a commode was moved the middle of the living room where grandmom slept and there was that odor when you took a step in the door. And yet, if a highly selective school interviewer might ask to meet at the house, yes, he would feel like he was putting himself at disadvantage suggesting a less personal venue. When applying to these schools, everyone wants to goose step as the school and anyone so assoricated calls 'em. </p>
<p>So for those who are comfortable, good for you. You are lucky to have a house that is welcoming to all and a family situation that is conducive to these sorts of things. It’s those who have some issues that are the ones who concern me, whether it 's because grandma likes to make sauerkraut and the house stinks thereof, or there is an unhousebroken devolpmentally delayed sibling running around, or that mom is a bit unstable. Leave people the privacy of their homes.</p>